


I Will Only Break Your Pretty Things

by yalejosie



Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Jonny d'Ville and Nastya Rasputina are Siblings, heist heist heist heist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:13:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28283766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yalejosie/pseuds/yalejosie
Summary: When Jonny wants to retrieve a gun, he decides to go to Nastya for help
Relationships: Jonny d'Ville & Nastya Rasputina
Comments: 4
Kudos: 43





	I Will Only Break Your Pretty Things

**Author's Note:**

  * For [trialbyfic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/trialbyfic/gifts).



> soooo!!!! this one goes out to a very special friend of mine, oz!!!! theyre a fucking incredible friend, and i wrote this as a treat for them!! oz, when u read this: thank you for being an incredible fellow angst demon, and my partner in crime. your friendship is the best thing to come out of the mechanisms fandom, full stop. i hope this is a good gift!!!
> 
> (title is from tongues and teeth by the crane wives, which i looped while writing this lol)

Oftentimes, Nastya heard Jonny before she saw him. He was the exact opposite of subtle, his steps hard enough to echo loudly through the halls of the Aurora like the beat of a drum. Those steps were often accompanied by the occasional shot of a gun ricocheting through the halls. Let it never be said that Jonny’s a good shot. 

On this particular day, Nastya was doing repairs in a more inhabited sector of the Aurora. She often tried to stay in places where she was unlikely to be found, as the last thing Nastya wanted to deal with while doing her work was the appearance of one of the crewmates. But Aurora had asked Nastya to replace a piece of paneling, and she was never one to deny her love. So Nastya sighed as she heard Jonny stomp through the halls towards her. 

“What do you want, Jonny?” Nastya asked before Jonny even had a chance to speak. 

“We _need_ to stop at this planet, Nastya” Jonny replied, a hint of pleading bleeding through his usually cocky exterior. 

Nastya cocked her brow. 

“Why do we need to stop, Jonny? We aren’t set to make it to our next destination for a few more years.”

“Nastya! On this planet, I think its name is Kapteyn B?”

Nastya cut Jonny off for a moment, her lips curling into a mischievous smile

“Kapteyn B? Like _Captain_ B? Like you, our fucking first ma-”

Jonny shoved Nastya and replied, “The only reason I’m not shooting you for that shit is because I need your help.”

“Oh? My brother, who is Captain and in charge, needs _my_ help? What for?”

“There’s this casino on the planet, and it has a gun that belonged to Clifton ‘Sundown’ Snyder! The fucking legend that terrorized New Texas for centuries! I grew up hearing stories about him so we _have_ to get that gun. And you understand all the computer shit that’s probably guarding it.”

Nastya nodded her head, and gave a small sigh. 

“Fine, I’ll help you Jonny, but on one condition: We are not going to just burst in there and take it. We are going to do a _proper_ heist.”

Jonny looked like he was considering this. Nastya thought to herself that this must be a hard choice, for she knew there was nothing that Jonny loved more than shooting a place up. However, there were few things Nastya loved as much a properly executed heist, and she knew Jonny truly needed her. 

“Fine,” Jonny responded, “It’s a deal, Rasputina. Tell the fucking ship to get us to the planet, ‘k?”

“Of course” Nastya replied, a smug smile adorning her face. “But while Aurora gets us to Kapteyn B, you and I are going to actually _plan_ this heist. First things first, we need to decide what you’re gonna wear planetside.”

Jonny groaned as he and Nastya headed to his room. Nastya wrapped her arm around him and grinned. This heist was already looking to be a blast.

\---

“Nastya, I swear on every fucking year I’ve been alive, the _minute_ we get back on the Aurora I’m going to murder you for making me wear this tie.”

Nastya and Jonny were walking through the dinky desert town that the casino was located in. The town seemed utterly deserted with the lights in every house dimmed, no movement in the sparse mainstreet besides the occasional bounce of a tumbleweed. The only thing that indicated life within a 50 mile radius of the town was the glowing fixture of the casino up ahead. Jonny was dressed in a jet black tuxedo, a mature striped tie complimenting the outfit, with slicked back hair. He looked forlorn, with the expression of a cat that had been dunked in a bathtub.

“Shut up, Jonny, you actually look good for once.”

Nastya was wearing a sparkling silver dress, her hair up in a braided bun. The dress hid an array of tools she’d use to hack her way to the gun Jonny so desperately wanted. In the meantime, she’d make him squirm a bit. 

“It doesn’t even have a belt, Nastya! How could you be such an asshole!” Jonny whined. 

Nastya narrowed her eyes, smiling devilishly. 

“You want that gun, Jonny?” Nastya asked cooly. 

Jonny harrumphed, but nodded. 

“Then shut the fuck up. Besides, we’re about to get into the casino. If I were you, I’d act natural.” Nastya replied with a faux saccharine tone.

Then, the pair entered the casino. It was much bigger than it looked from the outside. A large chandelier illuminated the room from the center of the ceiling. Rows and rows of betting tables of all kinds filled the main foyer. On the side, hand operated slot machines blinked invitingly. The room was filled with people, harsh laughter emanating from every corner of the room.

“The gun’s there.” Nastya whispered to Jonny, leaning down and tugging his shoulder, and then pointing to a door located in one of the corners of the room.

“How do you know, Nastya?” Nastya whispered back. 

“Because that’s what it said on the fucking map, Jonny. Did you even read the plan I wrote?”

Jonny shrugged his shoulders, and Nastya facepalmed. 

“Jonny you little shit, I’m going to go over the plan one more time, but I swear if you make me do it one more time after this I’ll strangle you, and you won’t get your gun.”

Jonny nodded, and Nastya started whispering with a sigh.

“So here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to go over to those pool tables, play some games, and confirm that this is in fact the casino with the gun. Then, you keep them all distracted while I go hack whatever is protecting the gun, get it, and then we _get out_. Got it?”

“Got it.” Jonny replied, a look of cold determination on his face. For all of his goofiness, Jonny could be scarily competent when he wanted to be.

“Alright, then, let’s get over to those tables and get them warming up to you.”

Nastya and Jonny then made their way to the source of the harsh laughter, which was a group of men huddled around a betting table. They all wore black jackets over suspenders, cowboy hats on their heads. A few of them sported golden teeth in their devil may care smiles. They all turned their heads when Jonny and Nastya sat down at the betting table. 

“Who the hell are you?” one of the fancy cowboys asked. 

“Jonny D’Ville, at your service. And this here is my sister, Nastya.”

Nastya waved nonchalantly.

“What do you want?” another cowboy asked. 

“Nothing much. Just want to play cards with all ‘a you, if that’s quite alright” Jonny replied with a smirk. “What’s on the table tonight?”

“Texas Hold Em”

“Oh, _hell_ yes. Deal me in.”

\----

With that, Jonny started playing cards with the cowboys, while Nastya stole away to retrieve the gun. She almost made it unnoticed, until a hand landed on her shoulder. Nastya froze as she heard a voice speak. 

“Where d’ya think _you’re_ going?”

Nastya gulped, and turned around to see who had stopped her. It was a man dressed in an expensive suit, hair parted and slicked down the sides. He was chewing a piece of tobacco, and he grinned wolfishly. 

“My name is Slick Nick, and I am the owner of this here casino. And you are new. We don’t get newbies often...so _state your business_.”

Nastya pushed down her nerves, and replied, “My name is Nastya, and I’m simply interested in an item you have here. It’s a gun?”

Nick’s demeanor shifted from one of aggression to one of smug pride. 

“Ah yes, our antique Snyder gun! Good ‘ole fugitive from New Texas, yes yes. We are proud to have his gun on display! I’ll show you right now!”

Nick slung his arm over Nastya, and led her to the backroom where the gun was held. Nastya hunched her shoulders uneasily, and prayed that Nick would take his arm off her soon. She would hate to have to shoot him and blow her and Jonny’s cover so soon.

The backroom where the gun was held was incredibly ornate. Another large chandelier lit the room, and in the middle lay the gun in a glass case. 

“Well, there she is! I’ll leave you too it!” Nick announced, taking his arm off Nastya’s shoulder and leaving the room.

As soon as he was out of her sight, Nastya shuddered and brushed off her shoulders. She then examined the case the gun was in. 

“It can’t be this easy…” Nastya muttered to herself. Jonny could be idiotic at times, but he rarely enlisted Nastya unless he truly needed her help. No, there had to be some sort of mechanism to the gun that wasn’t readily apparent, Nastya thought to herself. 

Nastya turned out to be correct, as she spotted a small red button on the bottom of the pedestal that held the display case. When she pressed the button, a hole opened up in the far side of the room. A set of stairs led down from the room, into the darkness of the hole. Nastya grinned smugly, and stealthily made her way down. Hopefully she would be in and out before anyone noticed she was gone. 

\---

Jonny was having the night of his life. The men that gathered around the table were similar in spirit to those who had spent their time at the casino Jonny grew up in, and as a result he felt readily at ease. They all laughed harshly, and playfully bickered over the results of their cards. 

Jonny, having millenia more experience at playing cards than these men did, wiped the floor with them when he put in the effort. However, most of the time he let them win, both to stall for time for Nastya and for his own enjoyment. It made winning the next round that much more fun. 

Jonny was telling a tall tale that he had heard word of from New Texas a long time ago, when another person came to the betting table. He was wearing a crisp black suit, with hair slicked down at either side. He sat down and introduced himself. 

“My name is Slick Nick, and I’m the owner of this here casino. And we got another newbie! Who are you?”

“Jonny D’ville, at your service.” Jonny replied with a smug grin. 

“Nice to meet ya, D’ville. Guessing Texas Hold Em?”

“Yup” Jonny answered, popping the “p”. 

“Well, I’ve never had someone beat me before. Let’s see if you can change that, newbie.”

Jonny knew intellectually that actually beating this dude would be an _awful_ idea. His job was to cover for Nastya so she could get the gun, not piss off the owner of the casino. However, one of Jonny’s fatal flaws was that he could never back down from a challenge. 

So instead of nodding politely and losing, Jonny _grinned_ and replied, “You’re on.”

Jonny played that round expertly. He called every bet, he managed to pull every combination that would help him win. It was a lethal combination of skill and pure luck. Jonny ended up sweeping the table in a few quick rounds, including the bounty of Slick Nick. After the game, Slick Nick looked furious, face turning red with rage. 

“You fucking _cheated_.” Slick Nick growled through bared teeth.

While most of the time Jonny did in fact cheat, he’s actually beaten Slick Nick fair and square. While most of the time Jonny was proud to consider himself a cheat, he had fucking won rightfully, and he wanted to make sure this stupid little cowboy knew that. 

“Actually, Nick, I _won_. Can even show you my cards.”

“D’Ville, of you don’t fess up and admit you’re a cheater, I will _murder_ you” Nick replied, reaching for the holster of his gun.

Jonny froze, and an evil smile spread across his face. He clucked sarcastically as he spoke, looking Slick Nick dead in the eyes. 

“Now, now, you shouldn’t say things you don’t _mean_ , Nick. You really want to go through with that?”

Slick Nick let out a cry of frustration, and took out his gun. Jonny smiled devilishly, and hopped onto a table. 

“Well, boys, it was a pleasure to play with you all. Shame to have to kill you lot, but whatever. A shootout’s a shootout.”

And with that, Jonny started exchanging shots with Slick Nick and his cowboy jockeys. 

\---

Nastya found herself in a large room, equipped with more traps than she'd expect for a casino as small as this. However, Nastya made quick work of them, disabling the majority with her tools before she even stepped foot beyond the spiraling staircase that had led down in the dark from the display room. 

When Nastya made it to the middle of the room, she found the true gun that belonged to Clifton ‘Sundown’ Snyder. The gun was decorated with ornate sun symbols, and had a particularly large barrel for a shotgun of that size. It sat within a glass case on a velvet cushion. 

Nastya hacked into the control panel that locked the gun away, and felt satisfied as the case opened up with a hiss. Nastya gingerly picked up the gun, and headed back up the stairs. 

The heist had been a total success. Now all she needed to do was get Jonny. 

As Nastya headed back up the stairs, she heard the sound of gunfire and groaned. She hadn’t thought Jonny would blow their cover so quickly. This would make getting out of the casino more complicated. 

When Nastya emerged from the stairs, the hole closed away with a click. She then walked over to the entrance to the room, and peered out. Jonny was cackling madly as he shot at cowboys from behind an upturned casino table. Nastya decided the smartest move was to try and escape the room before anyone saw her, and let Jonny take care of the cowboys. Nastya waited for a moment when the gunfire slowed down, and scurried across the room. 

She thought she had managed to escape undetected among the chaos, until she heard a rough voice cry, “The girl’s got the Snyder gun!”

This was followed by an order from who Nastya identified as Slick Nick, who yelled out, “Get that gun back, no matter the cost!”

Well shit, Nastya thought as the gunfire started pursuing her. 

\----

Jonny made a beeline for Nastya as soon as the cowboys started shooting at her. As he ran over to her, he shot as quite a few of the shooters, taking them down with viscous glee. When he made it to her, Jonny grabbed Nastya’s hand. 

“How the fuck did you blow our cover so fast, Jonny!” Nastya yelled. 

“Doesn’t matter now, we gotta run!” Jonny replied.

They both sprinted out of the casino and down the main street. By now, the stars were out, and their forms were illuminated by the light of the casino. Behind Jonny and Nastya, a procession of cowboys followed, shooting wildly at the pair. They all missed spectacularly, and by this time Jonny and Nastya were both laughing wildly. They both felt pure ecstasy run through their veins along with the adrenaline of the chase. However, as bad as the cowboys were at shooting, they were very fast, and soon they were catching up to Jonny and Nastya. 

Nastya looked at Jonny as they ran, and shouted, “Jonny, I’m about to try something insane,so you gotta trust me.”

“What the fuck are you about to do, Rasputina?!”

“Just trust me, you fucker! And get ready to catch!”

WIth a yelp, Nastya hoisted Jonny over her shoulder so he was facing the cowboys, then tossed him the Snyder gun. Jonny caught it with glee, eyeing the rapidly approaching cowboys the way a wolf would view a lone deer in the woods. His eyes danced malevolent, full of crimson.

“Oh _fuck_ yes!” Jonny cried, before laying loose with his new gun. 

The cowboys never stood a chance against Jonny D’Ville once he had a good gun on his hands. Luckily, it had been preloaded, so Jonny didn’t have to worry about bullets as he sniped the cowboys from Nastya’s shoulder. He took especial glee in shooting Slick Nick right through the head in one shot, his body collapsing limply in a pool of blood. 

“Take _that_ , you motherfucker! That’s what you fucking get for tarnishing my name!” Jonny cackled proudly. 

  
  


Soon, Nastya and Jonny approached Aurora, who had been parked at the edge of town. The greatly diminished group of cowboys was still hot on their tails, and Nastya and Jonny made it into the Aurora without a second to lose. 

When Aurora’s doors fully closed, they both collapsed against the wall in a laughing heap, still breathing heavily.

“Holy _shit_ that was fun, and you got the gun, Nastya! I’m guessing you had a shitty time, though. Didn’t follow the plan at _all_ , heh”

“No, no, I got to do all the sneaky shit I like. Besides, being part of that gunfight was incredible. That was fun Jonny, we should do that more often.”

“Yeah, Nastya we should.”

“Do you promise to at least _try_ and follow the plan next time, D’ville?”

“Never, Rasputina.”

Nastya gave a beleaguered sigh, and Jonny laughed as they both made their way back to the Common to show off their prize. 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> aaaaand there we go!!! god that was fun to write. fun fact! i wrote 1914 words of this in a one hour sitting!!!
> 
> if yall left comments it would make my day, and stay safe and healthy!!!


End file.
